John Ramsey: Release entire grand jury record, not just indictment, in JonBenet case

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
10/21/2013 06:47:41 AM MDT

Updated:
10/21/2013 11:01:16 PM MDT

John Ramsey looks on as his wife, Patsy, holds an advertisement promising a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer of their 6-year-old daughter, JonBenet, during an interview Thursday, May 1, 1997, in Boulder, Colo.
(
PATRICK DAVISON
)

JonBenet Ramsey (Camera file photo)

John Ramsey has objected to Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett submitting any secret grand-jury indictment in his daughter's case to a judge to review and release.

In a letter to Garnett dated Sunday on behalf of Ramsey, his attorneys Harold Haddon and Bryan Morgan objected to the release of any indictment without the release of the entire grand jury record.

"Public release of the allegations of an unprosecuted indictment only serves to further defame (John Ramsey) and his late wife Patricia," the letter reads. "Mr. Ramsey will have no access to whatever evidence the prosecutors presented to the grand jury and will have no ability to disprove those allegations in a court of law. Nor will the public have any ability to evaluate the propriety of the indictment unless the entire grand jury record is unsealed and opened to public view."

This is the letter sent on behalf of John Ramsey by his attorneys to DA Stan Garnett regarding the possible release of a 1999 grand jury indictment in connection with the death of Ramsey's daughter JonBenet. It also included a copy of the letter then DA Mary Lacy sent the Ramseys in 2008 exonerating them of any wrong doing in connection with the death of their daughter.

Chief Trial Deputy Sean Finn filed a notice to the court with Ramsey's letter on Monday. However, he wrote, "This filing does not alter the position of the office of the District Attorney as stated in its response to order to show cause."

Daily Camera reporter Charlie Brennan and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a lawsuit in September seeking the release of the un-prosecuted indictment of John and Patsy Ramsey on charges relating to their 6-year-old daughter's death.

The Camera reported earlier this year that the Boulder County grand jury investigating the Ramsey case voted in 1999 to indict the slain 6-year-old's parents on charges of child abuse resulting in death, but that then-DA Alex Hunter refused to sign the document and prosecute the Ramseys.

The Camera is not a plaintiff, but supports the current lawsuit.

After hearing oral arguments Oct. 11, retired Weld County Judge Robert Lowenbach ruled Thursday that releasing the document sought by Brennan would not be a breach of grand-jury secrecy rules and ordered Garnett to show cause why it should be kept secret.

In response, Garnett offered to file under seal "any such document in our possession" in the JonBenet Ramsey case to a judge to review and release "as the court deems appropriate."

But John Ramsey's attorneys contend in the letter that Ramsey was not contacted by the DA's office about the release of any grand jury documents and pointed out that he and his late wife were exonerated by former District Attorney Mary Lacy in 2008.

Ramsey's attorneys said that if any indictment is to be released, the entire grand jury record should be released as well.

"The District Court found 'transparency' to be the determinative factor in its order to show cause. 'Transparency can only be accomplished if the entire record is made public,' " the letter reads. "It is therefore John Ramsey's respectful request that you advise the District Court in response to its order to show cause that if the unprosecuted indictment is to be publicly released, the court should also order release of the entire grand jury record, including all witness testimony, all exhibits, all colloquy discussions between prosecutors and the grand jury and all drafts of potential indictments presented by the prosecutors of the grand jury."

Garnett said he filed Ramsey's letter with the court because "My office's position is as a custodian of archival documents, and it is my duty to handle them in a way that's fair and forthwith with the court and doesn't interfere with the possibility we could prosecute this case in the future for a charge in which the statute of limitations has not run."

"We felt it was appropriate to file this with the court," he said.

JonBenet Ramsey was found dead Dec. 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's Boulder home, 755 15th St., several hours after Patsy Ramsey called 911 to say her daughter was missing and that a ransom note had been left behind.

In October 1999, more than a year after the case went to a grand jury, then-DA Hunter announced that the grand jury investigation had come to an end and that no charges would be filed due to a lack of evidence.

But in January of this year, the Camera reported that members of the grand jury confirmed they had voted to indict both John and Patsy Ramsey and that Hunter had refused to sign the indictment, believing he could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The 3-year statute of limitations on the charges in the reported indictment would have expired in 2002.

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